On May 3, PHS seniors can participate in a service learning project with Rebuilding Together Oakland (RTO). RTO is a non-profit that helps rebuild and renovate low-income housing and non-profit buildings in Oakland, said English teacher and service learning teacher advisor Debbi Hill.
“This year, the senior class will be working with RTO to help restore some greenery areas at Harbor House Ministries, which provides resources to underserved youth and families in Oakland,” said senior and service learning planning committee member Max Roitblat.
Students who opt not to participate in service learning are expected to go to class, Hill said.
The school-wide service learning project, which began in 2013-14, was discontinued after the 2015-16 school year, when the district announced they could no longer financially support the teacher-coordinator of the project at the level they had been, Hill said.
“The coordinator and the participating teachers chose not to continue the program because of the lack of support,” Hill said. “It was heartbreaking.”
Hill said that although the project no longer existed for all grades, one student took it upon herself to keep it alive for her grade. 
“One of the students involved in the student leadership of the school-wide project, [alumna] Hanna Marcus, was very upset that the district would no longer fund the project,” Hill said. “She was passionate about the value of students participating in service learning, so her senior year she decided to organize a project for herself and her class.”
Three years after Marcus graduated, students continue to organize the project, Hill said.
“The last two years, [seniors] went to the Oakland Zoo and spent the morning helping the groundskeeping staff clean up certain areas of the park that were overgrown,” Hill said.
This year, senior and main organizer Josh Rogers, along with five other seniors, decided to collaborate with RTO instead of the Oakland Zoo, Hill said.
“[We want] to make an impact on those who are more in need of the manpower that we can provide,” Roitblat said. “Zoos also come with a lot of controversy and debate about the ethical treatment of animals, so it was decided by [Rogers] and [senior] Jen Wuebbens to seek another project.”
Rogers said that this is both an opportunity to help those in need and to bond as a grade.
“Especially in a place like Piedmont, we have a responsibility to give back to those around us,” Rogers said.
Roitblat said that above all, service learning is about teaching students to help others.
“It is a really important value to teach high school students, especially in a well-off area like Piedmont, to care for others,” Roitblat said. “We really are lucky to live where we do and attend our school. Taking just a few hours out of one day of our lives to help others costs us next to nothing in the long run, but will benefit others for years to come.”
